productivity tips

How Too Many Small Decisions Can Cost You Big

Emily Guy Birken — Fri, 28 Jun 2019 08:00:06 +0000

Toward the end of her life, my grandmother's doctor told her to avoid a number of her favorite foods — including ice cream. Whenever my mother found a pint of Ben & Jerry's in my grandmother's ice box, Grandma's excuse was always the same, "Oh, the little bit I have won't hurt me!"

The thing about Grandma's excuse (that often made the vein in my mother's forehead start to pulse) was that she would have been right about one hot fudge sundae. A single decision to disregard her doctor's orders would not have made a difference in her health. The problem is that small decisions have a way of compounding, and my grandmother made her health issues worse one ice cream cone at a time.

The buildup of small decisions can be costly, whether you're trying to improve your health or your finances. Here's how small decisions can create big problems.

The tyranny of small decisions

In a 1966 essay titled The Tyranny of Small Decisions, economist Alfred Kahn describes how a well-meaning individual making a series of small decisions can end up with an unintended and unwanted large decision.

Kahn used the example of the Ithaca railroad to explain how small decisions can have devastating consequences. Rail was the only consistent mode of travel in and out of Ithaca, New York, as it could operate in any weather. But cars, buses, and planes offered faster and more convenient service in good weather. Travelers in and out of Ithaca consistently made the small, individual decision to take the most convenient service when the weather was fine. Because of these small decisions, the rail service was eventually discontinued because there were not enough travelers to cover the costs — which effectively made Ithaca unreachable in bad weather.

Every traveler who made the small decision to take a bus or plane did not intend for the rail service to dry up, but the cumulative effect of those small decisions created an enormous, negative and unintended consequence. (See also: 6 Guilty Pleasures That Are Killing Your Budget)

The latte factor

Though it has become something of a cliche, the latte factor is a common example of how the tyranny of small decisions can impact your budget. Popularized by financial expert and author David Bach, the latte factor describes how making regular small purchases, such as a daily $4 latte, can add up to a big payout that you don't intend to make. Make an unnecessary $4 purchase every day, and you spend over $1,400 per year.

This is what's so insidious about the tyranny of small decisions. Anyone who spends $1,400 on a single large purchase would at least have something of worth to show for the hole in their budget. But spending money a little at a time on small indulgences means you can't even point to where your money has gone. (See also: Here's How Rich You'd Be if You Stopped Drinking Expensive Coffee)

Easy payments and small decisions

Another important factor in how the tyranny of small decisions can destroy a budget is the fact that we now live in a largely cashless society. When you're making small purchase decisions using cash, the amount of money you have in your wallet is a natural reminder of how much you have spent.

However, it can be very easy to lose track of how much you've spent when you're using plastic to pay for everything. Each individual spending decision you make is a little thing that won't hurt your finances. But in aggregate, the decisions add up to a total dollar amount that you didn't intend to spend.

Aligning your choices with your values

Travelers to Ithaca didn't realize that prioritizing convenience on any one trip would mean the end of the rail travel they valued. Similarly, someone who isn't paying close attention to how much they're spending won't realize that their choices are adding up to something they do not want.

To combat this, it's important to align your choices with your values as often as you can.

For instance, let's say one of your values is to support local businesses. Any single trip you take to the big box store or any single item you order from Amazon will not affect the local businesses. However, if you find yourself stopping at Wal-Mart or ordering online all the time, then you're prioritizing convenience over supporting local businesses.

There's nothing wrong with valuing convenience, but you need to remember that you probably can't have both convenience and a thriving local business district at the same time. So you'll need to make sure you make choices that show your support for local business at least some of the time. (See also: 4 Ways Your Money Can Support Your Values)

Forced value alignment

Of course, it's difficult to align all your small choices with your values because each small decision feels like it's consequence-free. With no looming negative consequence on the horizon, it can feel a little ridiculous to ask yourself if buying this particular cup of coffee and a muffin will help you reach your overall financial goals. One good way to enforce value alignment is to take away your ability to make these small choices.

For instance, the standard advice about carrying cash instead of credit cards is part of the personal finance greatest hits list for a reason. When you use cash, you're forced to consider your values when making small decisions, since the resource dwindles before your eyes.

This kind of forced alignment can help defeat the tyranny of any number of small decisions. Here are a few examples:

Consumers who wish to support small local businesses could enforce that value alignment by signing up for social media updates to make sure those businesses stay on their radar.
Travelers who value an underused service could commit to taking that service rather than focusing solely on convenience.
Folks who would like to eat healthier or lose weight could make sure the tub of butter pecan ice cream never makes it to their kitchen.

Don't let small decisions pile up

It may be true that the little choices you make won't hurt you, but it can be easy to lose track of how small choices add up quickly. Rather than making each small decision out of context, take the time to figure out what you value and how your small choices will fit into those values. That way, you can be a master of your small decisions, rather than ruled by their tyranny.

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This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

How Habit Boredom Makes You Abandon Your Goals

Emily Guy Birken — Mon, 20 May 2019 08:00:11 +0000

Earlier this year, fueled by a trip down the rabbit hole that is Pinterest's bullet journaling suggestions, I found a new way to make a habit of cleaning my house: habit tracking.

I set up my new habit tracker like a game board, with each of my daily housekeeping chores shaped like a different Tetris piece. Each night, I drew and colored in each piece corresponding to all of the cleaning tasks I'd taken care of that day. After coloring in my board every night for five weeks, I was absolutely certain that this time I would finally achieve my goal of having an effortlessly and continuously clean house.

I was doing everything right according to habit research. I'd created a game to give myself extrinsic motivation until the new habit took over. Repeating that habit every night for weeks meant I was well on my way to my goal.

Unfortunately, I'm currently sitting in a house that's a mess, and I haven't updated my board since March.

It turns out that reaching a goal can be incredibly difficult even if you set yourself up for success by creating a new habit. That's because of something called "habit boredom," which is the weakening of your positive emotional response to an action once it becomes habitual.

Here's what you need to know about how habit boredom can create setbacks with your goals, just when you think you're finally on your way to reaching them.

Understanding habit boredom

Establishing good habits has long been touted as a way to reach your goals. After all, researchers have found that about 40 percent of your daily activities are performed habitually. Creating beneficial habits — like putting things away, making a bag lunch to take to work each day, and drinking a glass of water before each meal — can ensure that your actions are working toward your goals of a cleaner house, better finances, and improved health.

The problem is that intentionally creating a new and beneficial habit means you have an emotional response to it. For instance, you may feel proud of yourself when you begin your habit of packing a lunch each day. Look at you, starting a new money-saving habit! You can puff out your chest with pride as you calculate how much you're saving with each homemade sandwich.

But that emotional response is not going to be quite as strong on day 17. That's because the process of creating a habit also numbs your emotional response to that habit. In other words, as the habit takes over, you're more likely to feel bored by it, since it's no longer novel.

By that point, throwing together some turkey and cheese on wheat is no longer something to be proud of — it's just Tuesday. And when your coworkers ask if you want to check out the new taco truck, the fact that you no longer have a strong emotional connection to your lunch-making habit means it'll be easy to let your poor sandwich get soggy in the refrigerator while you enjoy some tacos.

Combatting habit boredom

Part of the problem with habit boredom is the fact that you may not realize that's why you're abandoning your newly-formed habit. It may seem rational to just skip your new routine one time because you're tired, hungry, busy, or otherwise unable to let the habitual action take over.

However, habit boredom means you're resistant to making your usual brown bag lunch the next day, too. And the one after that.

There are a couple of ways to keep habit boredom from wrecking all your progress, however.

Fall in love with the boredom

Habit and productivity expert James Clear writes in his book Atomic Habits that truly elite goal-setters find a way to enjoy the boredom of their habits. If the only path to become an Olympic athlete is to spend each day doing boring, repetitive athletic exercises, then those individuals who are capable of finding ways to enjoy the boredom have a leg up over those who feel like doing yet another set is about as interesting as watching paint dry.

So how do you go about falling in love with boredom?

Pair your boring habit with something novel. Adding a fun motivator to your new habit can help you keep going with a habit that has lost its sheen. For instance, if you're trying to keep your brown bag lunch habit going, you could use fun and colorful food storage, start cutting your sandwiches into shapes, or even experiment with recipes and snacks you've always wanted to try.
Partner with a friend. You probably already know that exercise is more fun with a buddy. So is any other boring, repetitive habit. If you're trying to establish a money-saving habit, partner up with a friend who is also trying to start a new habit. Holding each other accountable can help you both stay on track when habit boredom strikes.

Embrace the process orientation

We generally establish new habits because we have a goal in mind. The problem is that habit boredom can make us feel like we've failed if the boredom strikes before we've reached the goal.

When you're focused solely on a goal, whether that goal is a cleaner house, better finances, or improved health, you often focus on the question, "Can I do this?" rather than "How do I do this?" The first question assumes that failure is an option. The second assumes that you will succeed and prompts you to figure out your process for doing so.

That's why the process orientation, which focuses on how to do something, is more likely to lead to success. The guiding principle of process orientation is the mantra "there are no failures, only ineffective solutions."

If your habit boredom leads you to abandoning your new habit, there's no need to feel like you're never going to reach your goal. You just need to tweak your solution to see if it'll better help you reach it. When you're open to asking yourself why something didn't work, you're more likely to find a solution that will work rather than simply abandon the habit and goal altogether. (See also: Habits Aren't Boring — They're the Secret to Happiness. Here's Why.)

The double-edged sword of habits

Becoming a creature of habit can do a great deal to help you reach your goals if you're intentional about your habits. But human beings are not machines that can be programmed and left to run.

We need to consistently tweak our habits, indulge our need for motivation and novelty, and recognize that reaching our goals is a process that may require a number of fits and starts.

Unfortunately for me, that means not even a beautifully rendered bullet journal Tetris board is sure to overcome the problem of habit boredom. (See also: The Surprisingly Easy Way to Change Your Habits and Your Life)

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This article is from Emily Guy Birken of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Best Money Tips: Tips for an Ultra-Productive Day

Amy Lu — Tue, 09 Jun 2015 19:00:10 +0000

Welcome to Wise Bread's Best Money Tips Roundup! Today we found some great articles on tips to have an ultra-productive day, how to free up space on your iPhone, and amazing ways to save money at Target.

5 Reasons to Keep a Work Diary

Glen Stansberry — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 18:17:23 +0000

Link:

http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-reasons-to-keep-a-work-diary

Many historical figures kept work diaries or journals. Ben Franklin, John Adams, Andy Warhol, and countless others have recorded the events of their day in some form. While these historic diaries are incredibly fascinating for us modern folk, the benefit they gave to the writers was probably far greater.

Richard Branson has written bestsellers based largely off of his years of recording his daytime thoughts and working experiences into journals. Reading Branson's thoughts motivated me to keep a loose log of work and life experiences as well. The ritual has helped me immensely, probably more than any other work or time management "hack." (I have a hard time labeling something a "hack" that was used by a Founding Father, but I digress.)

My process is pretty simple: At the end of each day I'll recount what worked, what didn't, and some other random things that happened during the day. There isn't a lot of structure, just merely stream of thought that lasts about fifteen minutes. Sometimes I'll vent in wordy prose, other times I'll just make a quick list. I've found that it's not so much what or how I write, but rather that I actually do it. The results have been profound for me. I'd recommend this practice to anyone. Here's why.

The Release

If anything, it feels good to unwind and recount the bits of the day. There's something about the finality in writing something down on paper that makes it more real, and makes the memories stronger. I doubt I'd be able to remember half of what I did throughout the day if I didn't recount them. It also helps with answering that recurring question of "where did the day go?!"

An Honest Overview

If you're like me, you keep lists of stuff that needs to be done throughout the day. I've had days where the morning started with 15 things on the list, and ended with 13 left undone. Ouch. Yet being able to recall the day allows me to see some of the other things I did get done that weren't on the list.

See the Wins

We often forget the things that we got done during the day for lots of reasons. We're taught at an early age that what we do isn't as important as what we didn't do. After all, what we don't get done often impacts us more in work and other social settings. This causes us to automatically shove the stuff we actually did accomplish into the back of our minds, and fret about the undone. However, focusing on what we have done, the "wins," in our day rejuvenates. Going to bed looking at what was accomplished can be a massive motivator to help start the next day, and can keep us from closing the day on a sour note.

Minimize Your Mistakes

One definition of insanity is repeating the same process over and over again, while expecting a different outcome. Similarly, it's easy to plow through each work day like the last, without giving a second thought to the events of the day. This is especially true for our bad days. On our worst days, we simply want to unwind and not have to relive the nightmare that was the previous working day. But it turns out the worst parts of our days are important to remember as well (even though it stings). Reverse engineering what went wrong is helpful to ensure it doesn't happen again, and work journals are perfect for this.

A New Perspective on Your Day

The most helpful part of this exercise for me is getting perspective on what my days end up looking like. For example, after a particularly bad day last month I reflected, stiff drink in hand, on all the events of the day. This helped me to see that my day actually wasn't as bad as I had remembered it. In fact, it was a really decent day, minus a couple setbacks towards the end. In my mind I had made these setbacks out to be more important than they actually were. The day wasn't a total loss after all! Perspective is everything.

As our days move by us faster and faster, it becomes that much more important to take a breath, and reflect on what happened during the day. The Good, the Bad, and even the Ugly. Without the perspective of our days, we can't really take satisfaction in our big wins, nor can we learn from our mistakes.

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This article is from Glen Stansberry of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

Being routinely creative

Philip Brewer — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 12:59:49 +0000

It might seem like creativity would flourish best in the absence of any constraining routine. In fact, the opposite is true: Having a routine is very useful for protecting your creativity.

Most people have the outline of a routine provided for them--they get up, they go to work or school, they come home, they go to bed. This sort of rhythm provides a useful constraint on your routine--perhaps you shower before work, run errands on the way home, mow the lawn on the weekend. If you're going to do any sort of creative work, you need to carve out a chunk of time somewhere in that schedule. That isn't easy, but at least it's clear what you need to do.

If you don't have a schedule imposed by something external (such as school or a job), you might imagine that you're in a superior position to give your creativity free rein. For most people, though, it doesn't work out that way.

It might seem like creativity would flourish best in the absence of any constraining routine. In fact, the opposite is true: Having a routine is very useful for protecting your creativity.

Everybody has certain things that they need to do--pay the bills, buy the groceries, run the errands, etc. The problem is, there's no limit to those sorts of activities--they will grow to fill all your time, if you don't put limits on them yourself.

If you don't have a work schedule to constrain them for you, it's very easy to let things that have to get done eat the time available for your creative pursuits.

The solution is a routine. Just like someone with a job, allocate chunks of time for the things that have to be done, then prioritize.

There are two keys:

First, be sure to schedule a chunk of time for your creative work. It doesn't need to be a lot--it doesn't take a lot of time to be creative. Like everything else, if you allocate more time (and put it to good use), you can get more done. But also like everything else, you pretty quickly run into diminishing returns--you won't get twice as much done in six hours as you can in three, or even twice as much in two hours as in one (although large chunks of time do have a magic all their own).

Second, be sure to restrict the "things that have to get done" to the time allotted for them. Since they "have to get done," it's easy to let them encroach on the time you've set aside for other tasks. Don't let that happen. Make sure that you've got enough time to get the truly necessary things done (such as paying your bills), prioritize the other items, and ruthlessly defer anything that would spill over.

Whether you have the outline of a routine provided for you (by something like a job, school, or family obligations), or you have to create the entire routine for yourself, having one is the only way to ensure that you can get both your creative work and the ordinary chores of daily living done.

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This article is from Philip Brewer of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

An Easier Way to Manage Your To-Do's

Kate Luther — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 01:55:27 +0000

I love lists. I can't help it - I just do. Lists make me feel as if I'm making progress. They are my first step in taking any kind of action. The idea is no longer just rolling around in my head - its on a list, which makes it more concrete and doable, if only to me.

My lists range from sticky notes and scrap paper in my purse to a running list of random thoughts and ideas that I keep on my computer in Notepad. Its not sophisticated, but it ensures that I'll be able to access that brilliant idea later when I realize that I've forgotten what it was.

And I will forget. I always do. Not that I had the idea, just what the idea was. Its enough to drive you insane.

So, being the Queen of Lists, it occurred to me that there's probably some fabulous freebies out there on the web that can help me manage my lists better than the sticky notes and scrap paper.

I was right. There's tons. Here's my top 5 so far:

And I will forget. I always do. Not that I had the idea, just what the idea was. Its enough to drive you insane.

So, being the Queen of Lists, it occurred to me that there's probably some fabulous freebies out there on the web that can help me manage my lists better than the sticky notes and scrap paper.

I was right. There's tons. Here's my top 5 so far:

Remember The Milk
A wonderful alternative to sticky notes and dayplanners, Remember the Milk gives you all sorts of ways to organize and plan all of your to-do's. You can create as many lists as you want, make each one public or private and share with others if needed. Set due dates for your tasks, set tasks to repeat on a regular schedule and even create tags that show up in your "task cloud" - choose a tag from the cloud and see all the tasks related to that keyword.

Remember the Milk also allows you to see your list offline, set reminders that can be sent via email, IM or SMS and with the paid Pro version, you can sync with Windows Mobile.

Here's my sample list - made public for your enjoyment :)

43 Things
By now, just about everyone has heard of 43 Things but if you haven't (or just haven't figured out what to do with it) here's your chance.

While the other sites I've reviewed here are geared toward shopping lists and household chores, 43 Things is more of a "life's goals" to-do list, giving you the ability to track your goals, dreams and aspirations along with anything else you might like to add. Want to learn a foreign language? Add that here. Wish you knew how to juggle? You can add that here too. Can't think of any ways to challenge yourself? No problem... just browse what others are doing for inspiration.

You can also sync your 43 Things account to your blog so everytime you add a new to-do or update its status, you can post it to your blog as well.

You can see my 43 Things list here .

Ta-Da
From 37 Signals (who by the way has some other cool online tools) comes the Ta-da List. It has a user-friendly interface and can be shared with certain people or made public for all the Net to see.

You can check off items as you complete them so you'll always have a running list of what you've done so far.

You can see my Ta-da list here .

Bla-Bla List
Bla-Bla has a really simple interface but if you're looking for something to just manage your many to-do's, this is a great solution. You can share your lists with certain people or publish it for public viewing. You can see mine at http://blablalist.com/list/ivygirl/things_to_ponder and if you'd like to subscribe to the feed and discover other things I'm pondering, Bla-Bla has an RSS feature too.

Zoho
For those of you looking for something a bit more all-encompassing, Zoho's for you.

Zoho is kind of like an online day planner combined with a web conferencing feature combined with project management software combined with a Wiki, an online presentation tool and... well, you get the idea.

Using Zoho strictly to manage your grocery list is probably a waste of its capabilities but if you need something to help you manage, track, collaborate and create, then Zoho is definitely what you're looking for.

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This article is from Kate Luther of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

productivity tips

How Too Many Small Decisions Can Cost You Big

The tyranny of small decisions

The latte factor

Easy payments and small decisions

Aligning your choices with your values

Forced value alignment

Don't let small decisions pile up

Like this article? Pin it!

How Habit Boredom Makes You Abandon Your Goals

Understanding habit boredom

Combatting habit boredom

Fall in love with the boredom

Embrace the process orientation

The double-edged sword of habits

Like this article? Pin it!

Best Money Tips: Tips for an Ultra-Productive Day

Top 5 Articles

Other Essential Reading

5 Reasons to Keep a Work Diary

The Release

An Honest Overview

See the Wins

Minimize Your Mistakes

A New Perspective on Your Day

Like this article? Pin it!

Being routinely creative

Like this article? Pin it!

An Easier Way to Manage Your To-Do's

Like This Article? Pin it!